Gazette January 2020
6
Welcome
From Tony George, Headmaster Are leaders born or made? Or do they simply have leadership thrust upon them? It was Shakespeare in Twelfth Night who observed through the character Malvolio, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em.” The substance of this quote has since been channelled through a plethora of leadership quotes, from Theodore Roosevelt to Harry Potter, whether it be greatness, power or leadership.
The distinction between whether or not human qualities, such as leadership or character or musical prowess, can be attributed to nature or nurture (or both) has been of perennial debate. While there is no doubt that natural ability and talent provides a distinct advantage, it is the context of nurture that brings natural abilities and talents from potential to realisation. Further, we ought not underestimate the significant influence that nurture can bring to seemingly limited natural abilities and talents. Our mission statement describes The King’s School as a Christian community that seeks to make an outstanding impact for the good of society through its students, and by the quality of its teaching and leadership in education. This mission statement is the basis of our distinctives of Global Thought Leadership, Academic Excellence, Character Development and Christian Community. Global Thought Leadership is how we have been talking with our students about our understanding of leadership at The King’s School. First, our context for leadership is a global context. Our graduates will live their lives this century in an increasingly global context. Transportation and telecommunications have made the world closer and more connected. Our School demographics reflect the global
